Primary school friends the perfect study pairing

These VCE stars are proof that when it comes to acing year 12, two heads really can be better than one.

Clarence Antonmeryl and Dinith Premaratne turned their friendship into an academic advantage, studying side-by-side, challenging each other and finishing with identical scores: perfect ATARs of 99.95.

They even landed in the same bachelor of science degree at the University of Melbourne with Chancellor’s scholarships, knocking back offers from US campuses.

But while their paths are remarkably similar, they say it’s their differences – comparing approaches, filling each other’s knowledge gaps – that has helped them shine.

“We really supported each other through the VCE – we’ve known each other since year 4,” says Clarence, now 18. “We would constantly build upon each other’s work and understanding and I think that really helped make us better learners.”

“We argued a lot about approaches, such as the best way to solve a problem in maths methods, but it optimised our learning,” says Dinith, also 18. “We didn’t focus on comparing marks with each other either, and rather just on trying to build each other up.”

The duo were among a record 65,586 students to complete their VCE in 2025, a 3500 rise from the year before. As a new crop of students prepare to sit their exams, VCAA boss Andrew Smith is encouraging students to support each other.

“It is a stressful time because you want to do your best; you want to make sure you put your best foot forward,” he says. “Talk to people about how you’re feeling, about how they are feeling. There are others who’ve been through this who can give you good advice. Those are all things that, to be honest, I wish I had thought about when I was doing my HSC.”

For Dinith and Clarence, it was part of a wider school culture at Haileybury. “We always saw each other as one cohort, so whenever one of us did well, we’d say it was a win for all of us,” Clarence says.

Their collaboration continued outside school, with Zoom calls before SACs (school-assessed coursework) to brainstorm possible questions and “push each other’s understanding to the limit”.

An iMessage group with nine of their peers provided both light relief and extra study support.

When VCE results began arriving in December last year, the chat was buzzing. “We were congratulating each other on results, and were genuinely happy for each other,” Dinith says.

Surviving year 12 doesn’t have to involve spending every waking hour with your head in the books.

The study buddies embarked on their final year armed with a strategy that included taking four subjects instead of five to ease the load.